Solar flares—a sudden eruption of electromagnetic radiation at the Sun—are known to have significant impacts on Earth’s upper atmosphere and ionosphere, but their collective effects on geospace as an integrated system have never been examined.

Storm-induced ionospheric density variations are a major concern of near-Earth space environment as they could drastically disrupt satellite navigation and telecommunication systems.

Some recent studies have revealed that the post-storm thermospheric mass density sometime drops below its pre-storm value. This phenomenon has been attributed to the over-cooling effect caused by enhanced infrared emissions from nitric oxide.

H.Liu et al. have improved a comprehensive numerical model, the Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with thermosphere and ionosphere extension (WACCM-X).

The Whole Atmosphere Community Climate Model with thermosphere and ionosphere extension (WACCM-X) is a numerical model of the

A comprehensive modeling investigation of ionospheric and thermospheric variations during a prompt penetration electric field on 9 November 2004.